Top 20 Fourth Wall Breaks In Video Games

#20: This Isn’t A Game

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Top 10 Fourth Wall Breaks in Video Games

“Jak 3” (2004) The “Jak and Daxter” series definitely got more serious as it went along, but it still showed it knew how to have fun. The third entry picks up on the duo a year after being banished to a dangerous wasteland. Additionally, with Haven City under attack by the villainous Metal Heads and the Dark Makers about to reach Earth, the situation is pretty dire. Seem, leader of the Precursor Monks, tries to convey how grave matters are in a delightful, fourth wall-breaking moment. Upon meeting her a second time, Jak makes a snarky remark, to which Seem replies, "This isn't a game!" Jak and Daxter’s confused look into the camera always makes us chuckle.

#19: Dr. Ned Breaks the Credits

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“Borderlands” (2009) The “Borderlands” franchise has some of the whackiest, wildest characters of any FPS. In the first game’s first DLC, “The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned,” players are tasked with stopping the mad scientist, who created an undead army out of the workers he was meant to be treating. When you catch up with him, putting him down only takes a matter of moments. The credits then begin to roll; we remember thinking, “That’s it?” But no, it wasn’t. Dr. Ned, now undead, tore through the credits and revealed that the fight wasn’t over yet. The zany moment certainly fits with “Borderlands’” sense of humor. And we were treated to a proper boss fight as Undead Ned took a lot more bullets to go down.

“Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood” (2008) “Sonic Chronicles” for the DS differentiates itself from the wider “Sonic” series by placing the hedgehog in an RPG. For the most part, that transition was handled pretty well by developer BioWare. The game ends on a cliffhanger, setting up a sequel that would never come as BioWare was bought by EA not long after release. However, that’s not the only interesting aspect about the ending. After the climax, we see a conversation between Tails and Sonic. Not only do they both reference the fact that they’re in a game, but they also discuss the people who made it. Instead of rolling credits, the two tell us all the key players conversationally.

#17: Mr. Resetti

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“Animal Crossing” (2001) Forgetting to save was one of our biggest gaming fears before auto-saving was a thing. In “Animal Crossing,” we were scared of it for a second reason: Mr. Resetti. If you ever quit the game without saving, you’d be met by this incredibly irate mole the next time you played. You’d then be forced to sit there as he disciplined and sometimes yelled directly at you for not saving. If you’re bad enough, he might actually prank you into thinking he’s resetting the game and the entirety of your progress. Newer entries have obviously had less need for him. It’s still fun to see him pop up and his long-winded lectures have definitely left a mark on gaming.

#16: The Shower Scene

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“Tomb Raider II” (1997) Almost immediately after the first “Tomb Raider” hit store shelves, a rumor began to spread about a cheat code players could enter to play as nude Lara Croft. There was never any truth to it, but it was popular enough that it caught the attention of the game’s developer, Core Design. And so, they thought they’d have a little fun with it. At the end of Lara’s second adventure, she prepares to disrobe for a shower. But before she does, she turns to the camera to say, "Don't you think you've seen enough?" and promptly blasts the player with a shotgun. Pervy players everywhere may have thought their dreams were coming true. And that makes the ending all the sweeter.

#15: More Than Roleplay

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“South Park: The Stick of Truth” (2014) There are plenty of games that break the fourth wall by using clever lines of dialogue to teach you the mechanics. “South Park: The Stick of Truth” is overflowing with these moments. The story puts players in the shoes of the new kid in town as he’s pulled into a make-believe fantasy war that actually grows to be pretty fantastical. The writing was praised for being just as absurdly comedic as its source material. Almost every single line is a reference to the fact that you’re playing a turn-based RPG, from a joke about Power Points being PP for short to characters hoping they level up. The gameplay was surprisingly solid, but having characters reference it just made everything better.

“Kid Icarus: Uprising” (2012) With only two previous games on retro platforms, Nintendo had a lot of breathing room for characterization when it came to bringing Pit into the modern era. And it chose to reinvent the hero as a quirky, fourth-wall breaking jokester. Throughout this 3DS adventure, Pit will constantly make jokes about being inside a video game, whether he’s talking about the mechanics, the status of his foes, or the enemy designs, such as the Komayto who highly resemble Metroids. It even has fake out credits begin to roll before Hades interrupts them. The game itself is a blast to play, but having the main character be so self-referential just made it more of a joy.

“X-Men” (1993) A lot of older games are understandably thought of as incredibly difficult due to tough mechanics or obtuse solutions that many of us would never think of. In the 1993 “X-Men” game for Sega Genesis, one level’s ending left players scratching their heads. At the end of the level Mojo’s Crunch, you’re instructed to restart a computer. Only there’s no switch or button so you actually can’t. Or at least, your character can’t. What you’re meant to do is reset your Genesis, but only a soft reset as pressing the button for too long will cause an actual reset and your progress will be lost. It was a massive fourth wall break for the time, though we probably would’ve preferred an in-game button.

#12: The Manual’s Secret Code

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“StarTropics” (1990) This NES action-adventure game follows Mike, a teenager exploring fantastical islands in search of his uncle, who has been kidnapped by aliens. Packaged with the game’s manual was a letter that set up the game’s story; an invitation from Mike’s Uncle to visit him on vacation. However, this letter also held a secret message. At a certain point in the game, Mike would be instructed to dunk this letter in water. Doing so in real-life would reveal the message, which featured a code necessary to progress further. That’s some literal outside-of-the-box thinking and one of the cooler uses of a manual we’ve ever heard of. Future digital releases of the game would have to work around the absence of this letter.

“Doki Doki Literature Club!” (2017) Presented as a harmless dating sim, “Doki Doki Literature Club!” has the player chatting up different anime schoolgirls to earn their affection. Midway through, the plot changes drastically after the character Sayori hangs herself. The game ends and restarts with Sayori completely absent. Bugs and glitches appear throughout and, after another character takes their life, the club’s leader Monika restarts the game again and removes the rest of the characters. As it turns out, Monika has become self-aware and is a bit bummed about being the only non-romanceable option. She’s in love with you, not the character but actually you. And she’ll keep you in a void until you go into the game’s files and delete her, finishing the game.

#10: In A Computer Game

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“Max Payne” (2001) Remedy’s “Max Payne” is quite the trippy game, and we aren’t just referring to the bullet-time mechanics. It follows the detective as he simultaneously tries to solve his family’s murder and tracks a new drug called Valkyr. At a certain point, Max will find himself on this drug, which leads to some pretty interesting effects. Imagining himself inside the house his family was killed in, Max will find a burning room. A letter tells him he’s in a graphic novel, a clever joke at how most of the story is told through comic book panels. However, a second interaction would tell Max he’s in a computer game, making reference to someone controlling Max and the aforementioned bullet-time mechanic.

#9: Different Game Endings

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“The Stanley Parable” (2013) “The Stanley Parable” is one giant fourth wall-breaking message about player choice in video games. But it reaches peak self-referential humor throughout its multiple endings, particularly in the one that places Stanely inside other games. In this ending, the narrator tasks Stanley with completing a button-pressing game he designed. If you refuse, he’ll get fed up and open “Minecraft.” Wanting something more linear, he’ll then place Stanley inside “Portal” before abandoning him there. In the “Ultra Deluxe” version, “Minecraft” is replaced by “Firewatch” while “Portal” is replaced by “Rocket League.” Regardless of which version you’ve played, it's a surprising outcome that not only shatters the fourth wall, but does so in hilarious fashion.

#8: The Developer Hotline

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“Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge” (1991) Not many games will let you actually converse with someone who made it, which is one of the reasons why the fourth wall break in “Monkey Island 2” is so great. When Guybrush is lost on Dinky Island, he’ll come across a telephone on the side of a tree. The phone connects you to the Lucasfilm Games Hint Line, which actually doesn’t give you any hints at all. The operator will be comedically rude to Guybrush, especially if you ask them about the infamous stump joke from the first game. You can also annoy them with silly questions like “Where do babies come from?” and “Why do adventure games cost so much?”

“EarthBound” (1995) Giygas, the final boss in “EarthBound,” is one of the most interesting antagonists in a Nintendo game. It isn’t just his twisted appearance or creepy music that makes him unique, but also the fact that the characters must pray in order to defeat him. Long before you reach Giygas, you’ll receive a phone call from Tony asking for your name, literally saying you with the controller. During the battle with Giygas, Paula will have the idea to pray to everyone they’ve met across the adventure and, since you already entered your name into the game, she will also pray to you. Giygas’ weakness is human emotions and the combined prayers of the team, NPCs, and you are what defeats him.

“Undertale” (2015) Flowey from “Undertale” may not look it, but he is one devious villain. He takes sadistic glee in the misfortune of others and tries to outright murder you the first time you meet him. However, what makes him most interesting is his awareness of the player’s actions. If you kill the first boss, Toriel, and restart the game feeling bad about it, Flowey will call you out on it. In fact, most times you restart the game, Flowey will make a comment. He breaks the fourth wall in several ways during the finale, beginning the battle by crashing your game and forcing you to reopen it. Having Flowey reach out past the screen to speak directly to us undeniably made him an engaging villain.

“Conker’s Bad Fur Day” (2001) How do you end a game as wild, vulgar, and unique as “Conker’s Bad Fur Day?” With a fourth wall break of course! As the fight against the final boss looks lost, Conker is surprised to find the game locks up as he’s moments from death. He then knocks on the screen, poking fun at the developers for such a mishap. The developers agree to aid him in the fight as long as he doesn’t tell anyone about the mistake. With access to any weapon imaginable, Conker chooses a katana and slices the alien’s head off. Conker speaks directly to the player throughout the adventure. But this moment was a fourth wall break on another level.

#4: The Entire Game

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“Deadpool” (2013) With the signature ability of being aware he’s a comic book character, any game with Deadpool is bound to have some clever fourth wall breaks. We’re particularly fond of his Hyper Combo in “Marvel vs. Capcom 3” that uses his health bar and special meter as weapons. However, there’s really no topping an entire game’s worth of these shenanigans. His solo adventure hits the ground running with his own pitch for a game being rejected. It features the merc with a mouth rewriting the game’s script, phone calls with the development studio and his voice actor, and frequent chats with his narrator. The whole game is one gigantic meta ride. Considering the character’s nature, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum” (2009) The Scarecrow sequences in “Arkham Asylum” provide some of the best moments of the game. However, the one that comes out of nowhere, smashing through the fourth wall in the process, is the absolute best one. While Batman tries to concoct an antidote for the Titan Formula, the game appears to freeze with static spreading across the screen and distorted Joker laughter before it cuts to black. It legitimately seemed like the game broke before the opening sequence replayed with Batman and Joker’s positions swapped. The sequence ends with Joker shooting Batman and a tip on the loading screen advising you to use the middle stick to dodge his gunfire. That fear toxin is one Hell of a drug.

“Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem” (2001) “Eternal Darkness” is a wholly unique survival Horror game and it’s the game’s tendency to break the fourth wall that has made it a cult classic. Set across four different time periods, it has you control different characters dealing with a cosmic evil. The game’s most unique feature is its sanity meter; if it gets too low, you’ll experience some disturbing side effects. Some of these will be in-game only, like your character’s head falling off. Others will mess with you, like lowering the volume, making you think your save data has been deleted, disconnected controller errors, and a now famous Blue Screen of Death. Now THAT is real terror.

“Metal Gear Solid” (1998) The amount of fourth wall breaks in the “Metal Gear Solid” series could make up its own list, which we actually made over on MojoPlays. But the most monumental instance, within the series and all video games, comes with the Psycho Mantis battle. This villain famously toys with the minds of players by having their controller randomly vibrate, taunting your game preferences by reading your memory card, and making you think he’s changed the channel on your TV. To even defeat him, you must plug your controller into a different port. It isn’t just a fourth wall break, it’s an active inclusion of the player into the fight. It’s honestly remarkable that Hideo Kojima was able to think of it.